Bye, bye toxins
Detoxers swear by results but how much does it help, really?
By Kyra Kyles
RedEye
Published June 2 2008
Dan Sheehy, 28, is not exactly the poster child for food detox.
Sheehy, an amateur boxer and self-described "healthy eater" who lives in Ukrainian Village, is one of only a handful of men enrolled in a food detox class held in the back of Karyn's, a raw vegan cafe in Lincoln Park.
Sheehy readily admits to being there more or less at the behest of his girlfriend, Christine Anderson, whom he has joined for a four-week regimen of shake-drinking, vegan-eating, supplement-taking and fasting.
Some of his friends have ribbed him for his new eating habits, Sheehy said, and a client questioned his detox determination after he abstained from eating at a recent meeting.
"He's an older Greek gentleman that I met for a breakfast meeting, and he pretty much thought I was out of my mind," Sheehy, a construction company executive, said, adding that he drank a shake earlier that day. "He laughed at me, and made some kind of comment like, 'The world is nuts.' "
Indeed, the world may be nuts, if nuts translates into a deepening interest in the benefits of detoxing—or changing dietary habits in order to cleanse toxins from the body.
Medical and nutrition experts say toxins in the body come from sources such as processed foods, chemically treated water and alcoholic beverages. Local detoxers say they swear by their results, including bursts in energy, increased alertness and overall health.
"Detoxing is critical," said Lenette Nakauchi, a 26-year-old raw vegan and founder of gorawchicago.com and a "Young and Raw" meet-up group. "We live in a big city surrounded with toxins, like secondhand smoke and non-organic foods in restaurants," Nakauchi said. "I probably do some kind of detox at least four or five times a year."
But there are differing opinions on how much detoxing removes toxins, through methods ranging from drinking shakes to eliminating certain foods to fasting with certain liquids.
"Detoxing has not been shown to provide a significant medical shift in the levels of toxins in your body, but what it can do is help you reset your taste buds, so that you are not craving 'cheap tastes,' or sweet or salty foods as much," said Dr. Mehmet Oz, or "Dr. Oz," as he is known during frequent appearances on "Oprah."
Oz said it's possible to detox by simply substituting whole foods for processed foods and dropping alcohol, particularly dark liquor, from your diet.
"Your liver is your detoxing organ, and it works as a sieve or filter to get the hundreds of toxins in food and water out of your body," Oz said.
Even Oprah Winfrey has jumped on the bandwagon. Last month, she began a 21-day cleanse—removing animal products, gluten, sugar, alcohol and caffeine from her diet.
Christine Palumbo, a local registered dietitian, credits Beyonce with the increased popularity of detoxing, especially among women.
"Beyonce certainly used Master Cleanse very effectively for 'Dreamgirls,' " Palumbo said, referring to the star's svelte shape in the movie musical. Master Cleanse recommends participants drink tea at bedtime and substitute food with six to 12 glasses of a mixture of maple syrup, lemon, cayenne pepper and water for 10 to 40 days.
But Palumbo does not recommend doing a Master Cleanse, or going on any fast, for more than a few days.
"There is certainly nothing wrong with fasting for a day, or perhaps two or three," Palumbo said. "But the problem comes after that period, when people will find that they are going to be lagging, their blood sugar is going to be low and they may not have the wherewithal to go about their regular day."
Detox can be useful in dropping some pounds, as Beyonce proved, but don't be fooled that it's a fast track to a trimmer figure.
Anderson, Sheehy's girlfriend, said she tried Master Cleanse twice last year and enjoyed what she called a boost in energy, and a 15-pound weight loss, after her first cleanse.
"I got a little carried away and excited to eat again," Anderson, 29, said of the regimen she said she followed for 14 days each time. "It wasn't like I was starving, because the beverage you drink fills you up. But once I started eating again, it felt like the food was sticking to me, and it wasn't long before I gained every pound back."
That's not the only dark side to detox.
It can cause dizziness, headaches and bloating, according to Karyn Calabrese, a raw vegan and owner of Karyn's.
Indeed, those were the most common complaints during a recent detox class at Karyn's, along with a few comments about nausea from a recommended beverage that includes Green Kamut wheatgrass.
"This is why you work up to a fast," Calabrese said of some of the seeming setbacks. "As your body gets rid of the toxins, this is what some individuals may experience, but it is part of the healing process and it passes by the third week when your body is working so efficiently," Calabrese said of her four-week program.
Nakauchi, who detoxes on her own using varying methods from a colon cleanse to one that relies on herbal supplements and shakes, said her own setbacks—occasional headaches and lethargy—are countered by the energy she said she gains afterward.
"It's very hard to forget how great it feels once you finish," Nakauchi said. "It's really about letting your body do its thing, but you have to stick with it once you start."
You may have to fight especially hard to stick with it when it comes to the colon-cleansing aspect of the system, some locals said.
Anderson admitted to balking slightly at her most recent assignment from Calabrese's class: enemas.
"You need them to help with the bloat," Anderson said of the enemas. "But Dan told me, 'Honey, I don't know if I can do this.' "
Sheehy, however, said he is willing to press on, adding that, a few weeks into the program, he is feeling more toxin-free.
"Mentally, I feel more alert and I am definitely gaining more energy," Sheehy said. "But you'd have to talk to me after it's over for me to tell you whether I could do this again."
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